IMI (IMI) shares ticked up 8.59% to 1,770p as 3Q trading suprasses expectations
IMI said trading in its third quarter has been “somewhat ahead of our previous expectations”, prompting the group to increase its guidance for full year EPS to 88p to 92p (from 85p to 90p).
The group said demand into the first few weeks of the final quarter remains good and that it remains confident in its ability to deliver over time “sustainable, profitable growth”, including the growth and margin ambitions described in the group’s recent Capital Markets Events.
Provexis (PXS) shares jumped 13.74% to 0.925p following Fruitflow® agreement
Provexis has entered into a long term strategic cooperation framework agreement for its heart-health functional food ingredient, Fruitflow®, with By-Health Co., Ltd, a listed Chinese dietary supplement business which has a market capitalisation of approximately £5 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, By-Health will have exclusive supply and distribution rights to commercialise Fruitflow in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Australia.
Mkango Resources (MKA) shares rose 13.22% to 34.25p as it ups its stake in HyProMag
On Wednesday, Mkango increased its interest in HyProMag, a rare earth magnet recycling company, from 25% to 41.6%, following the conversion of a loan into HyProMag shares.
It said the cash retained by HyProMag will be used to scale up the patented Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) technology at University of Birmingham and Tyseley Energy Park, centres for magnetic materials, green technology and clean energy innovation.
Mkango said it is evaluating further opportunities to expand its position in rare earth recycling.
SDI Group (SDI) shares rose 8.44% to 205.5p following strong sales and profits in 1H
SDI Group said it expects to report very strong sales and profits for the half year ended 31 October 2021, with approximately £24.7m of Revenue (1H21: £14.1m; 1H20: £11.4m).
Alongside the contributions from Monmouth Scientific and Uniform Engineering, both acquired in the second half of FY21, it expects to report organic revenue growth in excess of 40%.
SDI said it expects full year revenue to be around £45m, ahead of current market expectations with pre-tax profit to be modestly above expectations at around £9.2m.
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) shares fell 7.97% to 180.15p as it warns on rising costs
In a trading update, Virgin Money warned investors that it would need to spend a further £175m in restructuring costs over the next three years to cut £175m in cost savings.
The Company informed shareholders that the additional cost savings would include cutting branches and offices and embedding remote working over time. Meanwhile, the bank also said that it would return to full-year profit and reinstate a dividend of 1 pence per share.
However, the Group believes it has ‘a clear path to deliver double digit returns by FY24’ and is ‘well placed to deliver strong, profitable growth’ through the acceleration of its digital strategy.’